POZ - Treatment News : Herpes Drug Fights HIV Too

The anti-herpes drug Valtrex (valacyclovir) has been found to lower HIV viral load in the blood and genital secretions of men with underlying herpes simplex vius-2 (HSV-2) infection, according to a report on a study from AIDSmap. The study confirms earlier research and further suggests that herpes treatment, in the absence of HIV therapy, may have health benefits and help prevent ongoing transmission of HIV.

Richard Zuckerman, MD, MPH, of the section of infectious disease and international health at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and his colleagues studied valacyclovir treatment in 20 men infected with both HIV and HSV-2 in Lima, Peru. The men were randomized to receive either 500mg of valacyclovir twice a day or a placebo for eight weeks. Then after a two-week pause, the dosing groups were switched so that those who’d received placebo now received valacyclovir and those who’d received valacyclovir now received placebo for an additional eight weeks.

Treatment with valcyclovir was associated with a 31 percent decrease in HIV viral load from rectal samples compared with placebo, and a 53 percent decrease in HIV in the blood. The study’s authors conclude that suppressing HSV-2 production in people coinfected with HIV results in significant reductions in both HSV-2 and HIV.

David Evans, New York, AIDSmeds.com, 2007-11-20 12:41:19
Valacyclovir should be sold as Valtrex in most countries.

Mr T. R. Toa, Wellington, New Zealand., 2007-11-19 20:36:53
Wow that is hope for people like me and I hope that it will be avaiable to people in New Zealand suffering from the HIV strand.

mandi henshaw eyambe, , 2007-11-19 16:34:23
is there a commercial name for valacyclovir in Africa?

mandi henshaw eyambe, , 2007-11-19 16:30:17
this is one of the greatest news i have gather today to help our patients mostly in the developing countries with poverty. May god be praised

jerry, Burbank WA, 2007-11-16 20:05:25
I've use Acyclovir for 15 years or so for Herpes. 1. is it the same as your Valacyclovier? 2. I haven't had a Herpes breakout in 10 years or more. 3. Could this drug be made into a enoculation against either? just wondering, jerry

Tame in SF, San Francisco, 2007-11-15 17:42:14
Valacyclovir is converted to acyclovir in the body. I have been taking twice-daily doses of acyclovir since the early 90s after studies showed that poz people who took daily acyclovir were living longer. So, this article is not reporting any news beyond raising the question of why Dr. Richard Zuckerman spending precious resources this way?

David Evans, AIDSmeds.com - New York, NY, 2007-11-15 15:08:46
Dear Cliff and Will - Acyclovir was looked at early in the epidemic, but wasn't consistently found in studies to greatly impact HIV. You're right that the theory of controlling herpes being good for HIV control too is not a new one. Louis - please look at our drug page on Reyataz for many of the drugs it interacts with.

Cliff, London, 2007-11-14 17:25:03
This doesn't seem like "news" to me. When I was first infected, I remember reading about Valtrax providing an indirect benefit to HIV patients by reducing immune activation as a result of a chronic herpes infection.

Louis Bernard, New Orleans, 2007-11-14 14:33:33
I am crrently taking Reyataz, but I was not made aware of all the drigs that it has problems with. Where can I download all this info?

Will Rath, S. California, 2007-11-14 13:02:41
regarding the improved V.L.results with valcyclovir, is the same, or similar result achievable with acyclovir?